Having turned professional with Bahrain Victorious in 2020, Londoner Fred Wright has spent the early seasons of his career gradually building and progressing, before enjoying a break-out season this year.
The 23-year-old was at the forefront of races from spring to the autumn, recording a top-10 at the Tour of Flanders and establishing himself as a constant breakaway fixture at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España.
In July, he narrowly missed out on victory in Saint-Etienne before going on to take five top-five placings at the Vuelta. In the process, Wright has established himself as one of the rising stars of the peloton and a first pro win surely isn’t far off.
In September, Bahrain Victorious extended Wright’s contract to 2025, and he looks set to be a key leader for the team in the Classics and Grand Tours going forward.
Cyclingnews caught up with Wright at the recent Rouleur Live event, talking through his best season yet, future goals, and the new wave of British cycling, among other subjects. Read on for the full interview with one of the most exciting young riders in the peloton.
Cyclingnews: You’ve been one of the big breakthrough riders of the 2022 season. What’s your analysis of this year’s racing?
Fred Wright: I think it all started in the lead-up to Flanders. With each race I was getting better, getting more confident, learning the roads. I went into Flanders with a lot more confidence than I’ve ever had going into such a big race. I know it takes years to really know the course, but I felt really comfortable with what was coming, and what the plan was.
We bonded well as a team and all that sort of stuff, and so going into the race, I was… not expecting, maybe, the result that happened, but I was expecting that I would get further into the race that I had done previously. And I think to just be there in that group of six or seven of us coming into the Kwaremont for the last time it’s like that’s already an improvement on last year and sort of a sign of what’s to come.
So, the confidence I got from Flanders I think sort of took me through going to every sort of race being like, ‘OK, I was seventh in Flanders – it’s nothing to be sniffed at’. So, I kind of took that on for the rest of the season.
Then to come through to the Grand Tours in the way that I did… I couldn’t really be happier. Obviously, there’s a lot of like ‘oh, you should have got a win, could have potentially won a stage’, but I really think that it’s just the right sort of…
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